Mar 14, 2018
Lawrence W. Mahonin, 96, of Grand Forks passed away peacefully in Boundary Hospital early Wednesday morning, March 14, 2018 after a long bout with cancer.
Lawrence was born in Buchanan, Saskatchewan in 1921 to William (Wasya) and Mary Mahonin, and though an only son of that union, he was raised among half sisters Hazel, Molly, Olga and Vera Mahonin and half brothers Pete and John (Dergousoff), and Bill (Meslik) from previous marriages.
In 1931 the Mahonins moved to Rossland, BC and then on to Grand Forks where young Lawrence began a vocation as sign painter and designing, and as a burgeoning carpenter, built his mother and father a home on Carson Road at the beginning of WWII.
As a staunch pacifist, he was able to avoid service in lieu of alternative services, and in 1947 he married Betty (nee Negraeff), and moving to Trail, BC where they raised a daughter and two sons (Laverne, Ron and Dale).
Lawrence made his living as a building contractor building some 50 homes in the Trail area and then went on as a foreman on various dam projects in BC until his retirement. His wife Betty passed away in 2002 and Lawrence moved to Grand Forks in 2011.
He is survived by his daughter Laverne (Fred), sons Ron and Dale, grandsons and granddaughters Nina (Barry) Savitskoff, Misty, Kate Mahonin (Andrew), Josh (Andree) Mahonin, AJ, Haley and Daniel, and great-grandchildren Cole, Alicia, Mason, Lennon, and Morgan.
A sincere thanks to the medical staff and caregivers at the Boundary Hospital who extended their devotion to his care while there. Lawrence thought the most of you, praised and loved you all. There will be no funeral as he wished to be cremated and remembered without gathering.